"Abah tak boleh main toys Muawiyah!" - A parenting reflection: Pick Your Battles

While our 3-year-old Muawiyah was playing with his toy cars and monster trucks, narrating his imaginary stories, I decided to sit down with him and play with him. I held one of his monster trucks and started moving it along as he played.

Suddenly, he screamed and yelled at me, "Abah tak boleh main Muawiyah punya car!" and immediately burst out crying. 

I froze in disbelief. What just happened? 

In that moment, his response left me shocked and annoyed at the seemingly "ungrateful" response of his father genuinely attempting to spend quality time with him. 

But Alhamdulillah, before my fight-or-flight defensive mechanism kicks in, the voice in my head again reminded me: 

"Stay calm. Remember your training". 

This was it. Another defining parenting moment. What do you want from this situation? What do we want our child to learn? What kind of father do you want to be? 

My response: Apologize and hug. 

"I am sorry, Muawiyah. Abah didn't know that abah cannot play with that car". 

He continued crying for a while, then I stretched out my arms to offer a consoling hug. 

He eventually hugged me, cried it out, and calmed down. 

After those turbulent few minutes (that felt like hours!), we then resumed playing and having fun. 

Here are five major lessons I learnt from this one, seemingly simple day-to-day parenting struggle:

1. Respecting their boundaries, so they can learn to respect ours 

2. Pick your battles: you don't have to win all of them 

3. Apologizing: modelling behavior 

4. It's okay for children to cry

5. Demonstrate Unconditional love through your actions

1. Respect their boundaries, so they can learn to respect ours

In his world and perception, Muawiyah has defined his own set of rules. When I touched his monster truck, it upset the storyline and pre-defined rules of his game. (In my defence, I wasn’t aware of the rules… but really, this wasn’t the time and place to bring that up 🤣)

Letting them win arguments - giving them the freedom to say "no" - instills them with self-confidence, and builds trust knowing that their opinions matter to us. 

In the book "Raising Good Humans", author Hunter Clarke-Fields writes:

"Because your child will learn that she can trust you to treat her with respect and consideration, so she will authentically want to cooperate with you.

From infancy, we are teaching our children how to treat others by the way we treat them. How we respond to our children on a moment-to-moment basis creates a pattern that our children may follow for a lifetime. Therefore, the onus is on us to behave the way we want our children to behave. 

You may have seen a parent yelling at a child to be quiet (or you may have had such a moment yourself). Our kids see right through this hypocrisy. If we want our children to learn to be kind and respectful to others (including us), then we must demonstrate kindness and respect. If we want our kids to consider others’ needs, then we must show them that we truly consider their needs. If we want them to be polite, then we have to consider our own use of courteous words with our children. We must treat our children how we ourselves want to be treated. We should behave as we want them to behave. 

It’s so simple — and NOT easy at all!"

2. Pick your battles: you don't have to win all of them!

I realized that by describing this, I may come off to some parents as "weak" and to allow him to "get away with disrespect". 

Empathizing with the child's perspective, he didn't mean to disrespect me. Just upset because my actions didn't follow his "rules". 

There is a difference in apologizing or turning away because we "surrender", and apologizing with the conscious intention to achieve a greater good. 

One thing I have learnt, is that parenting is like a long negotiation process. The key to effective parenting that invites genuine cooperation - without resorting to punishment, bribes, or forcing them down their throat by flexing your muscles of authority - is INFLUENCE. And sometimes, to create a perception of fairness, this means allowing them to “win” every once in a while.

In the long journey of parenting, there are two categories of disagreements: trivial battles which we don't have to win, or the non-negotiable ones which we cannot compromise.

So which category does "his world of toys" falls in? 

Let them have it! 

Let the child win the battles that don't matter, so they are more willing to cooperate in the battles that do matter most. 

3. Apologizing: modelling positive behavior 

Ever come across those co-workers or bosses who refuse to apologize, even when there are actions which are clearly flat-out mistakes? 

Among the clear parenting decisions that we made raising Muawiyah is that we would like to model the habit of owning up and taking responsibilities for our mistakes. And that would include mindfully saying "sorry" and making amends.

What we also want to lead by example is that as parents is a key component of the Growth Mindset: we are not perfect or infallible. We are also trying to figure it out. We make mistakes, just as they do. And we want to improve, just as we want them too!

Here is an interesting excerpt from the book "Positive Discipline" by Jane Nelsen:

"Have you ever noticed how forgiving children are when we are willing to apologize? Have you ever said you were sorry to a child? If so, how did that child respond? I ask this question during lectures all over the world, and the response is universal. When adults sincerely apologize, children almost always say, “That’s okay, Mom” (or Dad, or Teacher). Children can be feeling angry and resentful in response to disrespectful behavior one minute (and adults probably deserve it) and switch to total forgiveness as soon as the adult says, “I am sorry.”

When adults take responsibility for what they did to create a conflict (and any conflict takes at least two), children are usually willing to follow this modeling and take responsibility for their part. Children learn accountability when they have models of accountability."

4. It's okay for children to cry

The first few years of a child's life are the most crucial phase of emotional growth. To allow them to have an emotionally healthy childhood and upbringing, we need to allow them the room to express themselves - and that includes bearing some uncomfortably loud outbursts from time to time.

As a rule, I never tell Muawiyah to stop crying. At best, I would force myself to bear patiently with the noise; at worst, I would peacefully walk away so I don't explode.

I'm not going to sugar coat here - Muawiyah cries a lot, as I expect toddlers would. But as parents, we have the emotional upper hand. We can shape ourselves to be the source of their comfort in their times of need, instead of someone else (remember this as they become teenagers!)

"As parents we need to expect and accept children’s difficult emotions. Just like adults, when kids block and repress emotions, those feelings pop out in potentially destructive ways.

Don’t tell children not to cry. Crying is a cathartic release for all children, and when they are done, they feel better. Phrases aimed toward boys like “Don’t be a mama’s boy” or “Be a man” may seem relatively harmless, but such words tell boys that they can’t show their feelings." ("Raising Good Humans")

5. Demonstrate Unconditional love through your actions

When I stretched out my arms to offer him a hug, I realize I was taking a vulnerable, emotional risk: I wasn't sure that he would embrace, reject, or outright hit me in the face!

At the moment he screamed at me, I realized that I could have just walked away peacefully. And that probably wouldn't have harmed his childhood because I would do so out of the sincere intention to teach him that his father has a sense of self-respect and that he needs to learn to self-regulate - to "cool it off" - if he wants his father's affection again. 

But I thought about how this emotionally immature 3-year old would have processed and misinterpreted that reaction.. Had I left him alone in this moment of intense expression, he might feel abandoned and alone. He might subconsciously learn that he isn't worth his father's patience. 

What if I took an even higher ground: to display unconditional love? What if, I could, through my actions, demonstrate that he can always count on someone - at least, his father - to be his emotional pillar of support to openly express his emotions and provide him with compassion in his moments of need, even if his father was the victim of his outburst? 

What if I could lead by example and model forgiveness?

It was a risk worth taking.. and it paid off!

6. Patience & Emotional Resilience

Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said, "The strong person is not the one who overcomes others with his physical strength; rather, the truly strong person is the one who controls himself when he is angry" (Al-Bukhari) 

The entire process can break down the moment we lose our cool and become emotionally compromised. 

From an emotional regulation standpoint as parents, in situations like these, the "easy" path would have been to shout back and flex our muscles of authority (e.g. "because I am your mother", or "look, I am your father! #StarWarsReference"). But doing so would turn the situation into a power struggle and teach the child that "your voice does not matter".

Imagine the impact of doing so repeatedly throughout their childhood. How will that impact their self-esteem to make a positive difference to the world? 

It would have been easy to dismiss their feelings or laugh at them for being upset at (what appears to us to be) such a trivial matter. 

But any of these would, by our actions, model disrespect.

As parents, we have the emotional high ground to decide how we want to shape our children’s thoughts and behaviors. 

So, what are you modelling with your little ones when confronting their difficult behavior?

Share your thoughts!

Spilled juice - A Defining parenting moment

 

Recently, while our 3-year old boy Muawiyah got excited in his storytelling and happily waved his hands, he clumsily knocked over his glass of juice, spilling the floor. 

At the moment it happened, I was upset and let out a grunt of frustration.

Then Muawiyah looked me in the eye… waiting in anticipation, what his Abah will do next and how he will respond. I could see there was a whole mix of emotions in his eyes - curiosity, guilt, regret, fear, anxiety.

Then, in that split second, I thought to myself: This was a defining "parenting moment" - what outcome would I want from this? What kind of father do I want to be? 

I felt there was almost an imaginary mentor on my shoulder, telling me - "remember your training". Control your emotions. Don’t let your flight-or-flight response trigger the "easiest" way out.  Remember what you read about in those parenting books. 

Situations like these present excellent opportunities for both parties - the child and the parents - to learn and develop together. 

When our child spills something on the floor, our immediate "automatic" impulse would have been to scold the child and clean the mess ourselves. But this would deprive them from owning up to the consequences of their actions, and at the same time harm their self-esteem by demonstrating intolerance for mistakes. 

But.. what about the other alternative? Just let them off the hook? Do we have to just accept that we are punching bags that have to clean up the aftermath of all their mistakes?

Turns out, there is a better, lesser known, third way: Lovingly teach them to own up the consequences. 

Remembering techniques I learnt from the book "Positive Discipline", I responded, "Oh no.. You spilt the juice Muawiyah! It’s a mess! Now we have to clean up!" 

I then went to get some tissue and cloth for him to clean it up.

Sounds simple enough, right? But there are a few details to make this effective: 

1. Resist the urge to swoop in to “save” them - The idea here is to teach the child responsibility, so this requires your patience more so than theirs! Inevitably, they will do a sloppy job. This guy was wasting tissues and doing such a slow job. It's tempting to just declare "ah it's okay, I'll do it" and clean up the mess ourselves; but doing so would have robbed our child of the opportunity to learn and grow, especially in rectifying problems. 

2. Sit down with him while he does it - As parents, sometimes, when we get upset, we give instructions, then we leave them and go do something else. This creates a lot of frustration and regret. Instead, employ the "be firm but kind" approach - sit down with them. Let them see that we aren’t upset with them and we are together with them to teach them. 

We can choose to do it together too, but do it in such a way that shows that we are doing it because we are helping the child, not because we are taking away the responsibility. 

3. Keep it friendly – After the first grunt of frustration, I made sure that I kept a friendly conversational tone throughout our interaction, making it clear I wasn’t angry or upset with him personally. 

At the end of the day, if we want to instill grit and a growth mindset, what we want to teach the child is, "it's okay to make mistakes. We just have to clean up sometimes. And that's not so bad. In fact, it can be quite fun." 

It was tempting to lecture and nag him for these silly mistakes. Yet if we do that, it will only cause him stress which won’t rectify the problem anyway. We might lose the big picture of the lesson: To build that trusting, loving two-way relationship as we teach discipline to our child.

4. Finish the job - Because of his overall sloppiness and inefficiency of the cleanup, after a few boring and mundane minutes, he quickly declared "I'm done! Nak main toys!". Again, I have to hold the fort, and playfully say, "oh, you're not done, Muawiyah! You still have to clean up that part. Would you like Abah to help you do it together?"

After a while resuming his cleaning, again he declared "Nak main toys!", which annoyed me a bit, because it seemed that he was purposely doing a lousy job to drive me to frustration to get his quick ticket out. Hold the fort, Abah, remember your training. We stuck to it, and eventually, I took a different negotiating strategy: 

"yeah Abah pun nak main toys with Muawiyah. Okay, I’ll tell you what: After we finish cleaning then we go play toys together okay?"

“Okay!” 

Then we kept at it until we were done. 

This seems like an unnecessarily long writeup about a typical parenting challenge in a day - what can I say, I am an Engineer by profession - but this one scenario taught me a lot as a father and educator: To be firm, but kind. To teach discipline, with love and respect. To teach responsibility while building trust.

What looks like "simple" actions on the surface, and theoretically "easy" on paper, is actually a lot more challenging in practice, and demands a lot of patience up to the end. 

As the parent, we have the upper hand to set the classroom tone and environment for our children in the school of life. So, what environment are you creating? 

Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said, "Ar-Rahman (The Most Merciful) showers his rahmah (Love and mercy) to those who act with rahmah. 

Have love and mercy for those on the Earth, and the One in the heaven will have love and Mercy for you" (At-Tirmidzi)

Quran is a Cure: “Yet why am I not feeling the effects?”

 

وَنُنَزِّلُ مِنَ الْقُرْءَانِ مَا هُوَ شِفَآءٌ وَرَحْمَةٌ لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَلاَ يَزِيدُ الظَّـلِمِينَ إَلاَّ خَسَارًا 

“And We Reveal the Qur'an that which is a cure and a mercy to the believers; but it increases the wrongdoers in nothing but loss.” (Surah Al-Isra’ 17:82)

The word used by Allah is “Shifa” (شِفَآءٌ) meaning a CURE; Allah did not describe at as medicine (دواء  / dawa’). Why?

Because if it is a medicine, if you take it, there is a chance that you will be cured or not be cured. But by describing it as a cure, Allah gives us assurance that it will definitely have a curing effect, if we apply it correctly. 

What does it cure against? Ibn Kathir mentioned in his tafsir, “meaning that it takes away whatever is in their hearts of doubt, hypocrisy, Shirk, confusion and inclination towards falsehood. The Qur'an cures all of that.”

But beyond spiritual diseases, the Qur’an is also an effective cure for other diseases of the heart such as laziness, arrogance, ostentation (riyaa), envy, fear, anxiety, sadness, cowardice, anger, and obsession for the dunya; in fact, the Qur’an is also a cure for some physical diseases, as indicated authentic hadith of the Prophet ﷺ.

And so, this ayah reminds us that, whenever we recite the Qur’an, in addition to the intention for blessings or seeking knowledge, we should also make a clear intention and du’aa to Allah that the recitation becomes a means of spiritual, emotional and physical healing for us!

Now, one might ask, “why is it when I recite the Qur’an and I am not experiencing the effects? Why am I nowhere closer to being cured?” 

Just as some of the most effective medicines, the reason why sometimes they don’t have an effect on us, are either one of four things: 

Either they are not the “correct” medicine for us; the dosage is insufficient; the medicine isn’t taken correctly in methods as prescribed; or that we are impatient – the healing has yet to take effect in a way that we can observe. 

1. They are not the “correct” medicine for us?

The effectiveness of certain medicines will depend on the specific conditions of a patient. Allah provides guarantee that the Qur’an works as a cure لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ  for believers – those with iman. 

And so for those who have iman, if the Qur’an doesn’t have an effect on us, then perhaps it is a reminder from Allah to view it from a Growth Mindset perspective to re-examine our deeds: Perhaps it could be our sins that are holding back? This ayah is a reminder for us to check ourselves, turn to Him in repentance, increase in our good deeds, and abandon sinful behaviors to allow the Qur’an to take root in our hearts to improve its effectiveness.

Also, there is another, important detail in this ayah: وَلاَ يَزِيدُ الظَّـلِمِينَ إَلاَّ خَسَارًا – for the disbeliever or skeptics who attack or doubt the Qur’an, it will not be a mercy or a cure, but in fact only make them more arrogant in their disbelief. 

Ibn Kathir says, “This is only for those who believe in it and accept it as truthful, it is a cure and a mercy only for such people. As for the disbeliever who is wronging himself by his disbelief, when he hears the Qur'an, it only makes him further from the truth and increases him in his disbelief. The problem lies with the disbeliever himself, not with the Qur'an"

“And whenever there comes down a Surah, some of them (hypocrites) say: "Which of you has had his faith increased by it'' As for those who believe, it has increased their faith, and they rejoice. But as for those in whose hearts is a disease, it will add suspicion and doubt to their suspicion, disbelief and doubt; and they die while they are disbelievers.” (Surah At-Taubah 9:124-125)

2. Insufficient dosage

The Qur’an isn’t just a once-off vaccine jab; it’s a constant companion and reference to be guiding us throughout our lives! Just as we cannot expect to flick a switch to get rid of all the diseases of the heart, likewise, applying the Qur’an as a cure is a lifetime commitment. 

There is an interesting authentic narration in sunan At-Tirmidzi, whereby a person suffered a stomach ailment, and the Prophet ﷺ prescribed honey. When he consumed the honey, he came back and complained that it got worse. Then the Prophet once again described honey. Then he came back and complained again: and again, the Prophet prescribed more honey. THEN he was cured! Scholars commented this hadith saying that the man was not consuming the sufficient dose – and only on the third time when he took more, did he get cured. 

Also, it is worth noting that different people have different “triggers” on which verses or surah from the Qur’an that deeply impacts them, personally. The same was true even for the righteous predecessors and companions of the Prophet ﷺ; for example, one companion loved surah Al-Ikhas (Qul huwAllahu Ahad) so much that he recited it in every rakaah. In one narration, the opening verses of surah Ta-Ha had softened and affected the heart of Umar ibn Al-Khattab so much that he embraced Islam. And Fudhail bin Iyad, the highway robber criminal who once had an intention to commit zina with a woman, until he heard the recitation of a verse from Surah Al-Hadid:  "Has the time not come for those who have believed that their hearts should become humbly submissive at the remembrance of Allah...". This immediately made him rethink his life, repent completely and change to be the scholar we have come to know and love. 

Perhaps we are still in need of putting more effort to learn and discover our own personal gems!

3. The medicine isn’t taken correctly in methods as prescribed 

Maybe we are not upholding or adhering to the commandments of those verses we are reciting. Perhaps we are still falling short of implementing the rulings of tajwid in our recitation.

Or, perhaps we are still lacking in knowledge and understanding of the recitation for the lessons to have an impact to our hearts and mind; hence perhaps that is why the recitation feels like a mechanical, lifeless ritual which we feel is “boring” and that we only practice in Ramadhan. 

We need to put in effort to build a relationship with the Qur'an, in order to cultivate the Love for it in our hearts. The righteous predecessors of the past used to Love the Qur’an – they would recite it in Night Prayers with such deep reflection and engagement to the extent that they wouldn’t even realize that they were hurt while being hit with an arrow. A level of engagement that even hardcore gamers don’t attain!

4. We are impatient and hasty – the healing has yet to take effect in a way that we can observe.

Just like any health and fitness program, it may take time and a continuous application before you observe any results, you need to be patient, remain steadfast and trust the process. In fact, many of the times, the results will already be there; it’s just that we have been looking in the wrong places and having the wrong expectations of what it should actually be (e.g. over-reliance on measuring “weight” only!)

Since much of our diseases are a cumulative effect of what we have seen, heard and experienced throughout our lives – including that which we watch on television and the internet – then we need to allow the cumulative effect of Qur’an to take place to cleanse away the toxic effects of our past sins. 

Just keep building your relationship with the Qur’an, and put your Trust in Allah, الشَّافِي Ash-Shafi – Who Assured the Qur’an as a Cure!

Caring for Our Mental Health: Practice Empathy with our leaders and those above us, too!

 

In the recent Leadership townhall, one of the striking highlights of the Leadership Team (LT) conversation was the President’s own personal experience among the LT. After emphasizing  the need to care for the mental health of our team, someone in the leadership team – among the must “unexpected”, manlier ones – personally talked to the President and asked him,
“Tengku, are you okay? Was that a cry for help?”

And he remarked much it meant to him and how appreciative he was for the gesture.

It was striking to me that he shared to us that #bromance interaction. In our constant barking that our leaders “need to have more empathy”, we forget that they are human beings with emotions too.
Perhaps, our leaders themselves, they too, are struggling and stressed out to find the best way to navigate these tough and uncertain times, in addition to their already heavy responsibility of those under their care.
Perhaps, it is even MORE difficult on them, to be vulnerable and reach out to seek for help, as their credibility might be on the line?
How would you feel, when you are struggling and simultaneously receive endless barrage of insensitive criticism? 

In the same way that we hate for gratitude to be weaponized against us when others yell “you should be grateful!”, in that same way too we shouldn’t just weaponize “they need to have empathy” and then we ourselves not practice empathy for them!
This isn’t only an entitlement mindset, but also borderline hypocrisy.

“Do you command righteousness of other people and yet you yourselves forget, while you recite the Scripture?
Do you not think?” (Al-Baqarah 2:44)

I can’t help but feel the same way about our leaders when people relentlessly chanting out #KerajaanGagal. It’s easy for us to point out someone’s flaws when we are not in their seats to endure the consequences of their actions (or inaction). It’s easy for us to spew out words of hate and justify it with self-righteous claims that we are criticizing “for the benefit of our children” / “our nation’s future”.

But what if people were to say those same hurtful personal attacks of hate to your own father? Your wife? Your daughter?
Well, who are our leaders, except that they are a father to someone. A husband to someone. A daughter to someone.

There is a huge difference between sincere naseehah and hate speech.

If we want to play our part in making the world a better, more caring and empathetic place, then our empathy has to be applied at all levels, including to those above us, while keeping a clean intention of Naseehah, without allowing it to cloud our objectivity and professional judgment.

One of the best examples of empathy towards their leader is that of the companions – the sahabah – with their leader, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
As they witness with their own eyes how their beloved leader is suffering, it trains them to be hopeful and resilient in facing the challenges in their own lives, when they see how their leader copes with his stressful life!
His life was filled with challenges after challenges. The impending threat of War from the Quraysh, Romans, and malicious surrounding tribes; the internal threat of hypocrites and treacherous Jewish tribes.

Even on a personal level, he constantly faced emotionally difficult times. All of his children – except for Fatimah – died in his lifetime, with all his sons dying in infancy or as little children. Can you imagine the sadness of burying your own child? Well, the Prophet did that with his own hands, many times throughout his adult life.
On top of that, living through periods of intense hunger, to the extent of tying stones to his blessed stomach ﷺ to hold off his hunger in spite of being their leader.

And these are only mentioning things on the surface. What makes the aspect of empathy so special about the Prophet ﷺ, is that Allah Himself – the Knower of the Unseen – Reveals the inner feelings and emotions of his beloved Prophet ﷺ.

When he was criticized by the Quraysh, Allah reveals these comforting words: “We know indeed the grief which their words cause you – it is not you they deny, but it is the verses of Allah that the Dzalimun deny” (Al-An’am 6:33)

He had so much compassion and eagerness for people to receive guidance of the truth, to be saved from the Hellfire, that this emotional pain would have caused him to die out of grief: “Perhaps you will destroy yourself out of grief following after them because they did not believe in this speech (i.e. this Qur’an)” (Al-Kahf 18:6)

He would describe that “if you know that which I know, you would be crying a lot and laugh very little." (Al-Bukhari)

YET, in spite of these intense feelings and the constant hardship, the companions would describe that they have never seen anyone smile more than the Prophet ﷺ! Whenever they would see him, he would smile at them: he ﷺ was a walking beacon of optimism to them!
“If this person, in spite of these difficulties, can remain calm AND continue inspiring and motivating others, who am I to complain?” 
It was this recognition – empathy – of his life challenges that was a constant inspiration of loyalty among the companions.

It also brings us a profound lesson to us today: If even a Prophet of Allah could feel hurt by others’ words, and feel so disturbed at his concern for others, then how about us today? How about our leaders? Our bosses? Our Parents?

Aren’t they all in need of a bit of empathy, too?

Caring for Our Mental Health: Practicing Empathy with those under our care

 

In our recent company engagement, I noticed a recurring theme that kept coming up time and time again: is for all leaders to practice EMPATHY and genuinely care for their mental well-being for their staff – a message that was strongly resonated by others in the organization.

I was pleasantly surprised by this dramatic shift in the right direction. The topic of “empathy and caring for those under us” was a message which was rarely ever heard of in the corporate world, prior to the pandemic.

We can all play a major part in shaping a caring, compassionate environment for those under our care to thrive and be at their best! The same too can be applied to our role as parents: leaders in our household.

So, what does “empathy” truly mean, in practice?

After giving it much thought, here are three components on what practicing empathy looks like, to me:

1. Non-judgmental Listening – Leaders need to allow safe space to speak up and LISTEN more; to consciously resist the urge to judge, get defensive, or play the blaming game when people open up.

One of the biggest grievances of self-expression and speaking up is that when people express their frustration, they get told “you just have to manage” (implying that they are incompetent in managing stress); or to have “gratitude” and “patience” weaponized against them (e.g. “You should be thankful!”, “this is the problem with millennials... so impatient”); or when they are confronted with a defensive counter-attack (“You think YOU’RE stressed? What about ME!”); or simply have their feelings trivialized, dismissed or looked down upon. (Parents, take note!)

Sometimes, just being able to express ourselves without being judged, that by itself can be a huge source of relief. Never underestimate the power of active listening!

2. Provide ACTUAL solutions – One principal engineer in our team once complained, “we don’t need people to talk to. We need to resolve this problem of being overworked!”
A little harsh, but to be fair, I do see where she is coming from. I in several past engagements, providing my feedback, getting a neutral, “thanks for the feedback”. Then nothing.

Empathy to listen is one thing (which isn’t easy either – even that alone can require a mountain of patience!) – but the BEST thing leaders can do is to go one step further, and provide tangible solutions: Whether it is to delegate workload, shift deadlines, negotiate flexible working hours in consideration of working parents, work re-distribution to share or reduce workload, add resources. It’s easier said than done, to be sure, but it can make a whole world of difference in staff morale and work motivation.

3. Peel off the Layers – Leaders need to create opportunities to get to know each other better on a personal level, as human beings: Make an effort to understand what motivates us, what we are passionate about. Build in regular communication sessions that allow us to actively develop a healthy, trusting and collaborative working environment for each other as a team, not merely a collective of isolated individuals “with KPIs to meet”. When done right, this by itself can be a huge morale driver that can boost productivity AND team chemistry to collaboratively achieve more. Win-win for the personnel AND the organization!

In my experience, this can also come in handy during professional conflicts. Next time, when we challenge each other professionally, or have to respectfully say “no”, we understand where we are coming from – purely business – recognizing it’s nothing personal. Without solid relationships, it can be difficult to differentiate if people are giving tough love or just being a jerk, especially in a virtual working environment!

Let’s all play our part to practice empathy. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said,
“Those who do not show mercy and compassion, will not be shown mercy and compassion (by Allah)!” (Al-Bukhari)

“The merciful ones: it is they who are shown mercy by Ar-Rahman (The All-Merciful).
Have mercy and compassion to those on Earth, and you will be shown mercy from Who is above the heavens!” (At-Tirmidzi) #whiteflag

"Panjang umur" - Nikmat atau azab? 🤔 #Birthday

 

Antara doa yang selalu diungkapkan di kalangan orang Melayu adalah "semoga panjang umur dan murah rezeki" - doa feveret untuk pengantin, gitew.

Masha Allah, cantik doa ni kan? Fitrah manusia memang sukakan harta dan kesenangan, serta hidup yang lama untuk menikmatinya. Bahkan, bapa kita Nabi Adam pun inginkan hidup abadi, dan mengetahui demikian, Iblis menggunakan ilmu tersebut untuk menarik perhatian Adam untuk scam beliau makan daripada "Pokok abadi" (shajaratul khuld شَجَرَةِ الْخُلْدِ) seperti dalam surah Ta-Ha, ayat 120.

Akan tetapi Islam memberikan perspektif yang lebih berhikmah dan mendalam tentang realiti umur dan harta.
Seorang lelaki bertanya kepada Rasulullah ﷺ, “wahai Rasulullah! Siapakah sebaik-baik manusia?”
Baginda ﷺ bersabda, “Mereka yang umurnya panjang dan amalannya baik”
Dia bertanya lagi, “maka siapakah seburuk-buruk manusia?”
Baginda bersabda, “Mereka yang umurnya panjang dan buruk (jahat) amalannya” (HR Al-Hakim dan At-Tirmizi yang menilainya hasan sahih)

Wow.. seburuk-buruk manusia pun panjang umur gak!? 😱

Iya.. Ini disebut "istidraj" - di mana untuk seorang fasiq yang selalu berdosa dan bermaksiat kepada Allah, maka Allah memberikannya tempoh lebih untuk membuat pilihan untuk mengumpul dosanya di dunia, sebagai hujjah di akhirat kelak. na'udzubillah.

Umur yang panjang hanya akan mendatangkan keberkatan dan kebaikan menjadi sebaik-baik manusia jika digunakan modal "umur" ini - yakni, tempoh hidup di dunia - untuk beramal soleh dan sentiasa perbaiki dirinya.

Bila kita sedar Allah memberi kita tempoh lagi untuk perbaiki amalan kita, sepatutnya memberi kesedaran untuk tepuk dada dan bertanya iman, persoalkan diri kita, "adakah ini petanda Allah sayang aku kerana inginkan aku perbaiki amal solehku? Atau petanda istidraj?

"Hari Jadi" bukanlah satu peristiwa untuk diraikan; bahkan satu lagi peringatan untuk kita mengingatkan matlamat dan hala tuju hidup kita, memperbaiki amal kita. Dan peringatan bahawasanya kematian itu otw: berkurangnya satu tahun lagi tempoh hidup di dunia.

Alang2 dah cerita tentang doa feveret orang Melayu, nak cerita sket pasal "murah rezeki". Hikmah yang sama di atas boleh guna untuk harta, kekayaan, dan semua nikmat Allah yang lain juga, seperti anak. Renungan: Bukankah Fir'aun dan Qarun kaya raya? Malah nama Qarun siap integrate dalam Bahasa Melayu standard, ada simpulan bahasa ada petik namanya lagi bagi kekayaan yang tidak dikenali.. "harta Qarun" katanya, LOL 🤣
Tetapi apakah kesudahan Qarun di dalam Al-Qur'an?

Bukankah Rasulullah ﷺ, manusia yang Allah paling cintai, beliau hidup dalam kondisi hidup yang sangat simple. Aisya menceritakan kadangkala berbulan-bulan api tidak dinyalakan di rumah, langsung tiada masakan, dan mereka hidup hanya dengan kurma dan air. Satu hari, apabila dilihat oleh Umar, Umar menangis melihat tempat kediamannya kerana sedih melihatkan keadaan Nabi Allah, sedangkan pembesar Romawi dan Farsi memiliki kekayaan yang melimpah ruah. Maka beliau berkata kepada Umar, "wahai Umar, tidakkah kau bergembira dan berpuas hati... kerana kenikmatan tersebut adalah untuk mereka di dunia, manakala ianya untuk KITA di akhirat kelak?"
(Masha Allah. Kalaulah wujud microphone pada zaman tersebut, inilah drop-the-mic moment)

Jelas sekali, kekayaan atau panjangnya umur seseorang itu bukanlah semestinya menjadi petanda kebaikan atau sayangnya Allah kepada kita. Yang penting adalah apa yang kita lakukan dengan umur dan harta yang Allah kurniakan kepada kita.

Tapi sat geng... nak cerita best ni, bagi semangat.
Lihat hadith berikut: satu tahun amal soleh adalah lebih tinggi nilainya daripada mati syahid, subhanAllah!

Talhah bin Ubaidullah meriwayatkan: Dua orang telah masuk Islam bersama; tetapi salah seorang itu lebih bersemangat dalam ibadah. Sahabat yang lebih bersemangat itu telah pergi berjihad dan mati syahid. Manakala sahabat lagi seorang, telah meninggal dunia satu tahun selepas sahabatnya tadi mati syahid.
Talhah meriwayatkan: "Aku telah lihat dalam satu mimpi bahawasanya aku di pintu Syurga dan aku melihat kedua mereka. Seorang pengumum telah mengatakan, sahabat yang mati kemudian masuk ke syurga mendahulukan sahabat yang mati syahid itu.”

Kemudian, Talhah menceritakan pengalaman mimpinya itu dan manusia berasa kagum. Berita tersebut sampai kepada Rasulullah yang bertanya, "Mengapa kalian semua kagum?"
Para sahabat berkata, "Wahai Rasulullah ﷺ, sahabat pertama yang lebih bersemangat dan mati syahid, tapi ternyata sahabat kedua yang mati kemudian, dia masuk syurga terlebih dahulu!"

Rasulullah ﷺ bersabda,
أَلَيْسَ قَدْ مَكَثَ هَذَا بَعْدَهُ سَنَةً ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قَالُوا بَلَى ‏.‏ قَالَ ‏"‏ وَأَدْرَكَ رَمَضَانَ فَصَامَهُ وَصَلَّى كَذَا وَكَذَا مِنْ سَجْدَةٍ فِي السَّنَةِ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قَالُوا بَلَى قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ ‏"‏ فَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا أَبْعَدُ مِمَّا بَيْنَ السَّمَاءِ وَالأَرْضِ ‏
"Bukankah dia menetap di dunia ini setahun lebih daripada sahabatnya?
Bukankah beliau telah melalui satu bulan Ramadhan, berpuasa dalamnya, menunaikan solat sekian dan sedemikian pada tahun tersebut?
Perbezaan antara mereka berdua adalah lebih besar daripada langit dan Bumi!" (HR Ibnu Majah, Ahmad)

Umur yang panjang, kalau digunakan dengan baik, maka boleh menjadi nikmat yang sangat hebat.

Gunakanlah waktu yang terhad anda di dunia ini dengan sebaik-baiknya.

Lihatlah di sekeliling kita, tazkirah HARIAN yang diberikan oleh Allah.. betapa ramainya orang meninggal dunia disebabkan #COVID19 dan lain-lain, sedangkan Allah menangguhkan lagi waktu kita. Mereka dah hilang peluang untuk beramal soleh dan melaburkan akhirat mereka. Peringatan untuk diri saya dan kita semua yang masih lalai lagi: Nak tunggu sentap macam mana lagi, bro?

BarakAllahu fikum.

Faisal أبو معاوية 👣

p/s Saya tak sambut Hari Jadi. Tak payah wish k 🙂

Caring for our Mental Health: Discovering Passion & Purpose

 

In recent meetings #WorkingFromHome, there was a striking observation about how some colleagues responded to do some urgent work at night and over weekends. 

The common response I hear is “Sure! MCO Lockdown: There's nothing to do anyway", “bukan boleh buat apa pun PKP”.

On one hand, it's great to hear colleagues having the team-player ownership to be readily cooperative without hesitation. 

But on the other hand, the side remark - "nothing to do anyway" – could also perhaps signify a worrying trend in declining mental health: emptiness in our lives.

Are people beginning to be devoid of personal goals, passionate hobbies and meaningful relationships, and have nothing in life. As a result, over-compensating with their jobs? 

Has work become a form of escapism to distract them from the emptiness of their lives, in the same way that some binge watch Netflix to drown them away from the sorrows of COVID-19 or to numb away the pain of meaninglessness?

How much further has this impacted our anxiety, knowing how fragile our jobs are in these times of economic turbulence? 

Another worrying sign is that people aren't taking leave, on the grounds that "there is nowhere to go".

You don’t HAVE to “go somewhere” to have a great time. Why are we so over-dependent on external factors to make us happy?

How about taking leave to find joy through the little things in life: spend time with our loved ones, to finally read that book, to challenge our limits with that satisfying home workout, or to catch up with the ones we care about - even if it is only virtually. Why not, just a simple day off in the remembrance of Allah - to recite some Qur'an, to do more dzikir, to seek a bit of knowledge?

We need to allow our work to be a means of something greater, for us to get in touch with our humanity: To put in the active effort discover purpose & passion in our lives. Learn a new skill. Get involved in activity groups. Pick up a new hobby. Do something awesome. Inspire & help others. Set ambitious goals to leave a mark – a legacy – on humanity.

 

Let's work to live, not the other way around.